[Official] Damien Brunner signed to multi-year deal

If this is true and they actually do pick up a Mason Raymond. my question is, does that then bump Josefson to 4th line duties? Is that a good thing for him? In terms of depth I guess it makes them much more versatile as well in case of injuries. Hopefully that would bump Gionta out too. Big fan of his but didn't live up to that playoff run.

SwissNHL account doesn't seem to peddle in rumors, so I'll give that *some* credence although it could easily be piggybacking off the garbage we've been reading. If so, it's a good deal - I wish it were longer, but I imagine it's Brunner who would resist, not NJ.

Well, you don't want to put too much money in someone who isn't all that proven at the NHL level yet, don't you think? I'm happy with that length, just hope he re-signs if he turns out. This and the Clowe contract could start looking bad if both of them underperform.

i really hope Brunner AND Raymond signs and perform... cause even with those 2

Elias Zajac Ryder

Clowe Henrique Brunner

Zubrus Loktionov Raymond

Carter Josefson Bernier

Tedenby Gionta Barch

its not a great great group of forwards. There's not one legit top line player in that group, its gonna hurt. Especially since we're not getting tons of goals from our defence either.

I really like those lines actually. I think someone brought up pairing Clowe with Ryder and seeing how they click becasue of the whole same town thing, but I guess looking at that lineup, theres not really another top line RW there. Ill take that though, theyd be a fun team to watch for sure.

Well, you don't want to put too much money in someone who isn't all that proven at the NHL level yet, don't you think? I'm happy with that length, just hope he re-signs if he turns out. This and the Clowe contract could start looking bad if both of them underperform.

Teams take the wrong risks in free agency. They pay too much for 'proven' players not realizing they are going to decline. Brunner represents the opposite risk, to a degree - the Devils aren't sure what he is. However, the price for free agents is going to explode when the salary cap does next year.

I chastised the Islanders for signing Mark Streit to a huge deal but that turned out to be one of the best deals signed between the 2005 and 2013 CBAs. You can really get a large savings if the player turns out to be a little better than you think and the salary cap goes up by a significant amount.

That not tha bad... if we can score 2-3 goal a night and play solid defence we could make it to the playoff. And we have acquire a pretty good goalie so it cant hurt

i feel Elias, Schneider, carter, gionta, bernier are the only guys that you know what they'll bring. Other than thats its really up in the air.

it's a deep group of average player i guess so i guess in a way its better and harder to play and matchup against than a top heavy team with sh!t and not depth... i agree with that, with a good system we could still win games but i still think too many guys are "question marks" in our lineup, god knows if Henrique will step up, god knows if Zajac will ever step up without Zach and Kovy, god knows how long Elias will keep on performing, god knows if Clowe will come back to his SJ days, god knows if Loktionov will continue to improve even without Kovy. god knows if the new guys will adjust well.

its not a great great group of forwards. There's not one legit top line player in that group, its gonna hurt. Especially since we're not getting tons of goals from our defence either.

I still consider Elias a top line player (IMO) he was better than Kovalchuk when they were both healthy last year, so unless Kovalchuk wasn't a top liner, Elias is. That said, I don't know how long Elias can sustain this level of play.

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Sumus Legio
You don't turn this around in a couple shifts. Its going to take a little time, but I know the guys will come back. Because I can see it. -- Jacques Lemaire

Well, one more to go, I guess, in order to create the emergency Frankenteam. Not much you can do other than stockpile depth. To keep from Elias being matched into oblivion and to keep from having a 3rd line that is a nightmare.

Elias wasn't 'matched into oblivion' when Kovalchuk wasn't here. In fact, he and Zajac (and Clarkson) were incredible at keeping the puck in the opponent's end.

i feel Elias, Schneider, carter, gionta, bernier are the only guys that you know what they'll bring. Other than thats its really up in the air.

it's a deep group of average player i guess so i guess in a way its better and harder to play and matchup against than a top heavy team with sh!t and not depth... i agree with that, with a good system we could still win games but i still think too many guys are "question marks" in our lineup, god knows if Henrique will step up, god knows if Zajac will ever step up without Zach and Kovy, god knows how long Elias will keep on performing, god knows if Clowe will come back to his SJ days, god knows if Loktionov will continue to improve even without Kovy. god knows if the new guys will adjust well.

That's the thing, a lot needs to go right. Clowe needs to stay healthy. Loktionov needs to avoid a sophomore slump (while playing without Kovalchuk on his wing), Henrique needs to bounce back from his sophomore slump, Brunner needs to prove he wasn't a fluke, Josefson needs to take the step (and stay healthy), Larsson needs to step up his game. None of those things is impossible, and many are likely, but they need probably all but 1 to happen to be more than a team that barely makes the playoffs.

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Sumus Legio
You don't turn this around in a couple shifts. Its going to take a little time, but I know the guys will come back. Because I can see it. -- Jacques Lemaire

its not a great great group of forwards. There's not one legit top line player in that group, its gonna hurt. Especially since we're not getting tons of goals from our defence either.

You're bumping olesz out of the top 12 w/ 2 signings and I don't think that's happening. As it is, signing brunner, which I very much want, knocks gionta out and we know the devils are fond of him.

I think they're signing one more forward and that's what they'll go to camp with. That alone knocks one of barch, gionta and tedenby off the varsity and we know barch stays to be the resident punching bag

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“They’re the ones that makes it happen,” Lemaire said. “It’s not us. It’s not me. It’s not the other guy. It’s not the guy before. It’s not the guy after. It’s them. And they have to take care of business.”
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"I guess I just miss my friend" (#28)

You're bumping olesz out of the top 12 w/ 2 signings and I don't think that's happening. As it is, signing brunner, which I very much want, knocks gionta out and we know the devils are fond of him.

I think they're signing one more forward and that's what they'll go to camp with. That alone knocks one of barch, gionta and tedenby off the varsity and we know barch stays to be the resident punching bag

And I could see Cam getting a roster spot. Lou likes 2 enforcers, and much as I usually hate this, I could see teams targeting Elias a ton this year unless we protect him.

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Sumus Legio
You don't turn this around in a couple shifts. Its going to take a little time, but I know the guys will come back. Because I can see it. -- Jacques Lemaire

Elias wasn't 'matched into oblivion' when Kovalchuk wasn't here. In fact, he and Zajac (and Clarkson) were incredible at keeping the puck in the opponent's end.

Agreed, Elias is a hard minutes player yet nobody thinks he's a first liner. Even if kovy was on the team still that Elias-Zajac-Ryder line would be our first line and in my opinion it's a very strong line.

And I could see Cam getting a roster spot. Lou likes 2 enforcers, and much as I usually hate this, I could see teams targeting Elias a ton this year unless we protect him.

I would be disgusted if cam made the team out of camp. It would mean either a ton of injuries or something went very wrong with te guys they have in camp. Now, could he get a game or two as "the mascot" (tri's nickname) in the middle of the season with some injuries and a matchup against a thug team? Perhaps. But cam on this team at any point means something has gone wrong.

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“They’re the ones that makes it happen,” Lemaire said. “It’s not us. It’s not me. It’s not the other guy. It’s not the guy before. It’s not the guy after. It’s them. And they have to take care of business.”
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"I guess I just miss my friend" (#28)

No one in the media thinks Elias is a top line player when in fact he is. He just decided to spend his career with a small market team instead of the fame and fortune. He and Shane Doan are ridiculously under-rated because of that.

BTW, Clowe is a beast! I just got one of his game worn Sharks jersey and it's huge!

I would be disgusted if cam made the team out of camp. It would mean either a ton of injuries or something went very wrong with te guys they have in camp. Now, could he get a game or two as "the mascot" (tri's nickname) in the middle of the season with some injuries and a matchup against a thug team? Perhaps. But cam on this team at any point means something has gone wrong.

I doubt he see's many if any games with the big club this season

Let's see what kind of a coach Debo is this year with a bunch of unknowns, I hope there's a healthy competition for spots (and no automatics)